Playing Hooky

"My name is Victoria and I am a truant blogger."  Lowers head in shame.  "It has been more than six months since my last post (not counting last week)."


You are now supposed to say, in unison, "Hi, Victoria."


With blog truancy comes guilt.  True, I have not blogged much this year (as my sister Constance is wont to remind me of on a rather regular basis), but I have not strayed far afield the world of crochet.  Although I have had a lot of work and family demands during that time, I did manage to play a little "hooky."
  
In February, I felted my first Fedora hat -- four skeins down but first, I had to add them to my stash.  In May, I made a pair of mittens -- two skeins used but purchased four more to finish the mittens as well as another pair.  In July, I attended the Knit and Crochet Show in Manchester, New Hampshire, where I picked up nine skeins of yarn.  Later that month, I made a silk purse, using up one skein purchased in NH and another purchased to finish the project. I also added a double sized skein to justify the cost of shipping.  In August, I made Vicki Mikulak's Flying Diamonds Shawl; although beautiful and fun to make, it was not quite a stashbuster at less than 2 skeins.  In the early days of September, I finished a cover for a hot water bottle, using yarn gifted from one Raverly swap partner.

My yarn adventures introduced me to several new yarns, including a couple that already were in my stash:


Frog Tree's Picoboo -- a pima cotton/bamboo blend in a sport-weight yarn that is actually closer to a light DK.  Wonderfully soft, it drapes well and shows stitch definition without being stiff.  Here it is worked up into a hot water bottle cover.

Habu Textiles' A-111 1/2.5 Tsumugi Silk Combination -- an unusual 100% silk yarn that has several colors within each strand.  This is not a yarn to highlight highly textured crocheted stitches, although it does an admirable job of subtle stitch definition, such as Dee Stanziano's Pushmi-Pullyu stitch technique.  Why this yarn is called a fingering weight yarn, I don't know.  rather, it works up like a DK and most folks are using a 6 mm needle or 4 mm hook.  Here it is as a silk purse.

StyleCraft's Signature Chunky -- this "Plain Jane"-named yarn is far from nondescript.  A 50/50 wool/acrylic blend from Britain, it is luscious and very soft, and, dare I say, inexpensive.  I started off with two skeins but had to order more to finish these mittens in the Peacock colorway.  I even ordered extra skeins so I can make a set for myself. This picture does not do them justice.


Looking back, several projects were completed, but overall, not much stashbusting done.  Counting yarn gifted from swaps, yarn purchased by me for me, yarn gifted to others during swaps, yarn used to make various projects, and yarn purchased to complete projects, I would say that my stash remains about the same.  Playing hooky has been productive.

Tippets Galore -- Busting some stash!

To paraphrase all the Leisure Arts how-to-craft books, I can't believe I'm crocheting! Actually, I took back the hook with a vengence about a couple of weeks ago. Since then, I have completed six small projects, just to test out my arm, albeit with baby steps.

I have three active swaps on Ravelry, two of which require a handcrafted item. The holidays are fast approaching, as are birthdays for a few friends. Of course, I could sew up a few gifts but just couldn't think of anything I wanted to make. I started looking at yarn in my stash for inspiration -- determined was I to not buy any new yarn -- I seem to be going up rather than down. I also looked at one-skein patterns that called out for similar yarn. I stalked projects completed by other ravelers within the discussion groups I subscribe to. I searched for simple yet elegant patterns. And I found this wonderful neck scarf by Lion Brand Yarn. Forget the official pattern picture because I saw what other Ravelrs did with the pattern and they are wow!

Some folks call these neck warmers or mufflers -- I like what the Brits call them -- tippets -- a stole or scarf-like narrow piece of clothing, worn around the arms and above the elbow but I like the short version that closes at the neck. Each scarf took about three to four hours to complete, including weaving in the inevitable loose ends and sewing on the buttons. My models were getting tired of repeatedly trying on the scarves as I sought to position buttons and pins.

My first attempt was this blue mohair muffler made from Kartopu's Eva, a lapis blue mohair acrylic boucle blend (what a mouthful, try saying that fast 10 times). Yet, I couldn't deal with the flower although the brown and purple version crafted by Sia on Ravelry is what inspired me to even attempt the pattern. Instead of the flower, I paired this with three tiny pearl buttons that just peep through to make their presence known. I gifted my mohair blue neck warmer to a friend for her birthday (a very active and youthful 50th). Perfect timing because the weather had taken a steep dip as we all struggle to stay warm during our morning commutes.

My second version of this pattern was this vintage-inspired "tippet" made of Dalegarn's Heilo in pine. I trimmed the scarf with the bit of James Brett's Marble in Moss leftover in my stash, recently frogged from my first serious attempt at making a scarf in stockinette stitch (which I never finished because I couldn't find another skein in this colorway). So, there really wasn't much left to do anything with so trim it had to be. Rather than a flower, I added a pewter button and a second row of shells. I love how it turned out. It can be worn several ways:








I hope my Vintage swap spoilee likes it as much as I like her work. In fact, it was her tiny tippet that inspired me to look for something in crochet.

My third is this soft Chilean cotton neck warmer (see the top of this post), again without a flower. The beauty of this hand-dyed cotton is accented by Naturally Caron's Country trim. The vintage brown button is the final touch. I couldn't believe how incredibly soft this yarn is. I love to work in cotton because it really shows off crochet stitch definition. Yet sometimes, I miss the easy drape that comes with working in soft wool or high quality viscose. Araucania Pategonia Nature Cotton is a dream -- you get softness, texture, stitch definition, and wonderful color. Can you tell I like this yarn and want to get some more?

My fourth version of this pattern is the furthest from the original. Done in an unknown blue acrylic with intermitten twists of yellow, green, or turquoise strands, it forgoes the shells to focus on the form. It's kind of militaristic is style with a pointed collar and round epaulets that form the front of the scarf. Made with a blue yarn reminiscent of I don't know what but it is soft. This was a find in the skeins without a label bin at my LYS. I had hopes it was a James Brett Marble but don't really think so anymore.

My last two quick projects weren't scarves or tippets. Rather, the theme was things inspired by tea. I made this "tea towel" and tea cup cozy for one of my secret box buddies. Luckily, she doesn't know it is me so I can blog all I want about it because only I and the swap moderator know who she is. Both items were made using the split single crochet stitch (SSC) which produces a stitch that is reminiscent of the knitted stockinette stitch. The yarn was TLC Cotton Plus in white and dusty pink, leftover from my Delta-in-Training dress.

So, I'm on the mend, ready to tackle bigger projects. But, I like the tippets and want to explore the split crochet stitch even more. Next time in sock weight yarn or possibly DK. I wonder if it will look good done up in half double crochet or even, dare I say, double crochet? Hmmmm. Off to explore.